


Tis the Season

by BetterYouThanMe



Series: Harry Potter Drabbles [20]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Because JK did him dirty in OOTP, During the 5th book, I fixed the Percy plotline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 17:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15845832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetterYouThanMe/pseuds/BetterYouThanMe
Summary: Percy doesn't really like Christmas time because it represents family. And he believes that his family hates him and only wants him when they need him. An event occurs and makes him re-think his stance on the holidays and his family.





	Tis the Season

Tomorrow comes whether we want it to or not. And Percy Weasley did not want it to come. The days had slowly been winding down to this exact date and he dreaded it. Christmas. Tomorrow was the holiday so loved by many especially his mother.

And Percy couldn't deal with that at the moment. He had a lot on his plate with his job at the Ministry. Dropping everything to go home wasn't an option. In fact, it was pointless to celebrate with them since they never wanted him in the first place.

Who would miss him if he didn't show up? No one wrote to him unless it was knowing when he would be home for things. They didn't care unless they  _needed_  him to make their family  _complete._ It made Percy sick.

He wasn't a total scrooge he did enjoy the Holidays when he was younger. And probably would enjoy it as much now if he didn't feel like everyone expected so much of him.

But it was more than just a tiny grudge. Percy had no one of his own to celebrate with. Penelope had dumped him long before they had graduated and he didn't have many friends. Most people don't like someone who enjoys following the rules. That was the hardest thing about Christmas.

All his siblings would buy trinkets for their friends or even have them stop by. For years Percy sat and watched as people came and went. They never showed him any attention. And he would never have brought Penelope since his siblings liked to make fun of him about her. They probably wouldn't leave the poor girl alone.

Either that or Penelope would embarrass him by saying something she shouldn't have. He found that Ravenclaws had little filter because getting the information out was important to them. Or Penelope and her group just loved to gossip. He hadn't run a full experiment with data to conclude a concise opinion.

Percy would be happily content with just sitting in his apartment by himself on Christmas. That was his plan anyway. He couldn't be fully ready for what was about to happen.

* * *

Percy was doing what he did best, his job. Some might think he was just a glorified intern that managed to get payed, but Percy was the only thing keeping the Department of International Magical Cooperation running. At least, that's how he saw it. To be fair his job was important but many things kept it going. Percy just thought highly of himself which wasn't a bad thing. It's what made Percy,  _Percy_.

Mr. Crouch did send him on a lot of errands that were far below what he was supposed to be doing. And the rest of the Department sent him to do things way out of his pay grade. But Percy didn't mind because it meant he was needed for something other than a sake of "family". He was more than just another Weasley. He meant something at his job which was a whole lot more than at the Burrow.

Percy also didn't mind working the day before Christmas. An emergency had occurred which required Mr. Crouch to come in. Which entailed Percy's arrival at the Ministry. He probably would work every Holiday if they allowed him to.

The extra shift Percy offered to take was starting to take a toll on him. His eyes started to droop and yawns popped up every so often. But that didn't affect Percy's work ethic. He could have been dead and he still would work as hard as he could.

Mr. Crouch had left ages ago much like the rest of the office but Percy continued to work. He was one of the only people in the entire Ministry. Most of the Departments were empty which would cause some people to become curious and snoop around. Percy was not like most people, in fact, he wouldn't go prying even if he had to. It would put Percy in a negative light if he was caught.

He did have to run one of his final errands for his boss before he could even think about leaving. The instructions just told him to take a look around the Department of Mysteries before leaving. No explanation on why but Percy did it anyway. He figured it'd be better to run this check and then finish up his paperwork. The walk would cause the blood to flow which might help him stay awake.

Little did Percy know that his Father was keeping guard of the Prophecies at that moment. And he didn't know that Voldemort was going to be running an attack to steal the one he desired. In fact, Mr. Crouch didn't even know about the Order's watch on the Department, he just always took a look around before leaving.

The trek to the specific Department wasn't particularly long but it was long enough for Nagini to strike before Percy got there. But the young man was out of earshot when the first few strikes happened.

By the time he had calmly reached his destination, his father was a bloody lump on the floor. Nagini had sensed his footsteps and aborted the mission despite her master's hold on her mind.

"Dad!" Percy hadn't called his father that in ages. He preferred to keep things formal in comparison to his siblings but seeing his father on the ground the way he was, well that caused him to revert back. The shock made Percy forget about formalities as he panicked on what to do.

"Percy?" His father spluttered back. "I don't know what happened. I was just guarding the door and I think a Snake attacked me."

"H-how do I-I-I Hel-lp?" Percy's words shook as he spoke. "Would it be better to apparate or Floo Powder?"

"Apparating could cause some problems but I don't think you could get me to the fireplaces in time."

Percy worked up the courage to take the chance of apparating. He suspected the risks when he asked the question and his heart fell when he heard his father's response. But he knew that if he didn't act his father would die and no grudge could keep him from saving his father.

* * *

The healers made him wait in the waiting room saying it wasn't safe for him to see his father. One of them told him that his family had been contacted but so far none had shown up. Which was a surprise to Percy because he figured his mother would have come the moment she heard. But the more he thought about it he realized that his mother was with his sibling who probably needed the support. It's not like they could visit their father in the first place.

Percy was told several times that he should go and be with his family instead of waiting around like a lost dog. But the problem was that Percy didn't know where to go. He knew they weren't at the burrow because something deep down inside him told him they weren't there. That gut feeling hadn't figured out where they were though.

So, he sat for a few hours contemplating on what to do. Until Kingsley Shacklebot showed up and instructed him to leave.

The older man led him in the direction of where his family was and how to enter the building. It was late at night too late for Percy to be wandering around London on his own. But despite his worries, no one confronted him on the street.

12 Grimmauld place looked exactly how Percy thought it would look. He entered the house quietly not wanting to disturb his family. But the front door had shut louder than Percy had anticipated.

"Who's there?" Percy recognized the voice of one of the twins. He knew it was Fred because of the lilt in his voice.

"It's me," Percy realized his answer was to vague, "Percy."

"Percy?" It was Ginny who ran to meet him in the hallway. She gave him a quick hug which surprised Percy and she led him to their mother.

* * *

None of the Weasleys with the addition of Harry could sleep. They stayed up the entire night in fear that they would receive the bad news instead of the good news they craved. Molly had wept over her son who had found his way home and the others tried to comfort her.

They all asked him questions about how he found Arthur, and Percy relayed the night's tale to them. When Harry confirmed his story stating how he saw it while he was sleeping Percy was astonished. The side of Percy that wanted to learn took over and asked the younger boy far too many questions.

Shortly after that Ginny piped up saying she was hungry. Their Mother tried to get up to cook but Percy asked her to sit back down. He and the Twins tried their best to create a nice breakfast that wouldn't end up poisoning everyone.

* * *

Percy was the last to visit his father in St. Mungo's. He was afraid that his father wouldn't want to talk to him because of the way he acted in the past. But his mother gave him one of her looks and that sent Percy through the door.

They sat for a bit in silence both men trying to come up with the words they wanted to say.

"I hope you can forgive me," Percy said quietly while holding his father's hand. "I know I've been a terrible son."

"I knew raising children would be difficult," Arthur started, "But I didn't realize how difficult it would be."

Arthur was interrupted but a cough and Percy patiently waited for his father to continue speaking. He wasn't sure where the speech was going and was scared it would end poorly for him.

"Each of you has your own personalities and sometimes they don't mix. I know that your upbringing wasn't the fanciest but your mother and I tried our best to make up for that. Seeing you start to head down the path you've been going down has challenging for us. We knew there was nothing for us to say since you had made up your mind. But hearing you call to me that night. Hearing you call me dad it made me realize that maybe you could be saved. Our Percy was still in there somewhere he just didn't know how to get out. Promise me, Percy, that you'll be yourself again."

"I promise, dad." Tears fell from Percy's eyes. "I promise."

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Fanfiction.net page  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5665438/BetterYouThanMe


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